Pulse regenerator



March 11,1 2. 'M. B. MAW 2,216 6 PULSE REGENERATOR Filed. 001:. 25, 1940\I IN l/E N TOR MBMCDAV/TT 7'TORNEV Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED STATESTENT FFlQE PULSE REGENERATOR Application October 25, 1940, Serial No.362,807

3 Claims.

This invention relates to signaling systems and particularly to impulserepeaters of the type known as register senders or impulse regenerators.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive arrangement whereby trains of impulses, such as those usedfor setting switches in a telephone system, may be registered andretransmitted at full strength and proper timing regardless of thedistorted nature of incoming impulses.

A feature of the invention is the use of an individual step-by-stepdevice per train of impulses which performs a simple and single circuitclosing operation at the end of a predetermined number of impulses.While th trains of impulses may be based on the decimal system, it isnot necessary that the simple stepper perform its operation on its tenthstep but it may so operate on any subsequent step thereafter that isfound most convenient when adapting certain commercial types ofapparatus to this use.

In accordance with another feature of this invention an additional butcommon stepper is provided to successively take the record off theindividual digital steppers and thereafter control the transmission ofout pulses.

Another feature is the use of a novel complementary counting system. Forexample, if a digital designation contains N places and the stepper musttravel M places before performing its circuit closing operation, then itwill be advanced N steps during the registration of the digit leavingM-N steps to be taken. Thereafter the stepperis associated with thecommon stepper and both take MN steps leaving the common stepper to takeM-(M-N) steps or N steps. Thereafter, as the common stepper takes theseN steps, a regenerated impulse is transmitted on each step. In otherwords, the common stepper is set in accordance with the complement ofthe digital designation and the impulses transmitted therefrom are inaccordance with the complement of the setting of such common stepperwhich, assuming the individual steppers and the common stepper toinvariably perform their circuit closing operations on the same numberof steps, will be exactly the same as the digital designation.

The drawing consists of a single sheet of circuit diagram.

This impuls repeater has been illustrated as a device which may beinserted in a two-wire line. Th conductors l and 2 represent the inputand the conductors 3 and 4 represent the output. When the line is seizedover conductors l and 2, battery and ground are supplied to thesubstation or other circuit arrangement thereon through the windings ofrelay 5. Relay 5 operates and in turn causes the operation of relay 6.

When th first train of impulses is sent over the input consisting ofconductors I and 2, these impulses take the form of interruptions of thecircuit so that relay 5 moves its armature to its back contact once foreach impulse.

and back contact of relay 5, armature 2 and front contact of relay 6,winding of relay 1, armature 2 and back contact of relay 8, winding ofstepping magnet 9 to battery and ground. The stepping magnet 9 thusresponds one step for each pulse transmitted and moves the switch arm [0a corresponding number of steps. Through the energization of relay 1, acircuit is established from ground, armature and front contact of relay1, armature 3 and back contact of relay 8, lower winding of relay 8 tobattery andground. It should be noted that the armature l of relay 8responds to the nergization of the lower winding alone of this relaywhilearmatures 2, 3 and 4 do not so respond. Armature I, therefore, isattracted and completes a circuit from ground, armature l and frontcontact of relay 6, armature I and front contact of relay 8 tooneterminal of the upper winding of relay 8 which is now short-circuitedby the ground leading to the junction between the two windings of thisrelay. As long as the pulses are being transmitted to the steppingmagnet 9, this condition will hold, but a short time after this train ofpulses has ceased as measured by the slow releasing characteristic ofrelay 1, the ground to the junction of the two windings of relay 8 willbe removed through the release of relay 1 and relay 8 will now benergized through both its windings in serieswhereupon the armatures 2,3 and 4 will be operated. The pulsing circuit is now transferred to thenext registering switch and after a proper interdigit pause thesubscriber will again send another series of impulses which willcause'the relay 5 to operate. Upon eachbackstroke of the armature ofrelay 5, a circuit will now be established from ground, armature andback contact of relay 5, armature 2 and front contact of relay 6,winding of relay 1, armature 2 and front contact of relay 8, armature 2and back contact of relay H, winding of stepping magnet l2 to batteryand ground. The

second digit is, therefore, registered by the move- Thereupon' a circuitis established from ground, armature ment of the switch arm I3 9. numberof steps corresponding to the number of impulses in the digit now beingregistered. Upon the first step, armature I of relay II will b operatedand after the interdigit pause when relay 1 releases the armatures 2, 3and I of relay II will be attracted.

Thus the full series of trains of impulses will be registered, each on aseparate switch in this manner.

In the lower part of the drawing, there is a broken rectangle markedstart control and numbered I4. This includes a pair of contacts I5 andI6 which when closed start the. automatic transmission ofimpulses on theoutput conductors 3 and 4. The start control is indicated in this mannersince it may be under various conditions operated in different manners.For instance, the start control may be operated by'the movement of anyone of the relays 8, II, etc., so that the transmission of pulses on theoutput path may begin soon after they have been registered over theinward path or at some delayed interval thereafter depending on which ofthe relays 8; II, etc., is used for this operation. On the other hand,these contacts I5 and I 6 may be on a relay controlled over the outputconductors froma distant point or they may be controlled over. theinput. conductors from a distant point. Again the contacts I5 and I6 maybe controlled. by some timing mechanism set in operation by theoperation of relay 6 or they may be operated through a chain circuitcontrolled by relays- 8, II., etc. so that they will not beoperated'until all these transfer relayshave been operated.

When the contacts I5 andIB are closed, acircuitwill be established fromground, contacts I1 and. I8, controlled by interrupter I9 throughcontacts I5 and I5, back contact of relay 21, winding of relay 2!) tobattery and ground. Relay 2Il'is slow to release and will hold itsarmatures in their operated position for an appropriate period after thecircuit for the relay is opened. When the interrupter I9 reaches thepoint where the circuit through contacts I1 and I8 is closed, relayresponds. Interrupter 2| is on the same shaft as interrupter I9 and,therefore, while relay 20 is operated the' contacts controlled by theinterrupter 2I-wi1l be operated. Thereupon a circuit may be traced fromground, contact 22, contact 23, inner armature and front contact ofrelay 20, conductor 25, right-hand armature and back contact of relay2-6, armature 2 and back contact of relay 24 armature 4 and frontcontact of relay 8, winding of stepping magnet 9 to battery and ground.In parallel with the winding of stepping magnet 9-, a circuit may betraced from conductor 25, through the back contact and armature 20frelay 21, winding of stepping magnet 28 to battery and ground. Thusstepping magnets 9 and28 will be periodically energized and wipers II)and 29 will be stepped in unison.

When wiper I0 comes to its last contact, a

circuit will be established from ground, wiper II], back contact andarmature'l of relay 24-, to the winding of relay 26 so that the circuitof stepping magnet 9 is now opened. At the same time, a short circuitacross the conductors 3 and 4 held bythe left-hand armature and backcontact of relay 26 is removed so-that now during the energization ofrelay 20, the circuitthrough the output conductors 3' and 4 will beopened each time the interrupter contacts 30' and 31 are operated. Sincethese contacts are under machine control, the timing of the out pulsesthus produced may be strictly controlled. The number of pulses sent outwill now be the dinerence between the number of steps taken by wipersIII and 29 in unison and the total number of steps which may be taken bythe wiper 29 until it reaches its last contact. When this contact isreached, a circuit is established from ground, wiper 29, its lastcontact, winding of relay 21 to battery and ground. Relay 21 through itsarmature 3 and front contact short-circuits the output conductors 3 and4 so that further operation of the contacts 39 and 3I will beineffective. Relay- 21 also releases relay 20 after slow release, thusassuming pick-up on each train of pulses.

It should be noted that the switches having wipers I0, I3, 29, etc., mayhave any number of steps between the first and the last contacts butthat these numbers of steps must be the same in all switches. Thus, if'the subscriber registers the digit 4 through the movement of wiper Ill,it will be moved four steps. When the wipers Ill and 29 are movedtogether they will be moved simultaneously a number of steps equal tothe difference between the total number of steps which may be taken bywiper I0 and four steps. If the total number of steps to be taken bythese switches is ten, then the number of steps which wipers I0 and 29will take together will be l04- or 6. Wiper 29 now having taken sixsteps, it will have 10-6 or 4-steps to take during which the out pulsingtakes place. Consequently, the number of out pulses is equal to thenumber of in pulses.

This may be stated generally in this way: If the digit comprises Xpulses then the initial movement of wiper Ii] will be X steps. If wiperit and all similar switches are capable of taking N steps before theireffective contact is closed then wipers I0 and 29 together will take N-Xsteps. Thereafter wiper 29' in transmitting out pulses will take N-(NX)or X steps.

Upon the operation of relay 21, a slow operating relay 32 will beenergized from ground, armature I and front contact of relay 6,conductor 33, armature I and-front contact of relay 21-, winding ofrelay 32 to battery and ground. Relay 32 after an; appropriate intervalwill close a circuit from ground, front contact and armature of relay 32through the oif-normal contacts 34' to release magnet 35' which willrestore the wiper 29 to its normal position. At'the same'timesteppingmagnet 36 will be operated and wiper 31 will move to its first'positionwhere relay 24' will be operated. Thus the wiper 29 is restored tonormal and now associated withwiper I3 so that the digit registered onwiper I3 will now be transmitted through the simultaneous stepping ofwipers I3 and 29-and thenthe stepping of wiper 29 to its last pointwhere the" action described will again take place.

At the conclusion of the operation of this device, relay 5 will bereleasedthrough any wellknown means and after an appropriate intervalrelay 6 will'restore to normal. Thereupon a connection will beestablished from ground, armature. I and back contact of relay 6,conductor 38 which leads through the off-normal switches of each of thedigit registering devices such as the ofi normal' contacts 39 to therelease magnet 40 whereby the wiper I9 is. restored. to normal. Thisconductor, 38 also connects a ground through the off-normal contacts 4|to the release magnet 42 whereby the wiper 31 is restored to normal sothat the whole circuit reverts to its idle condition.

What is claimed is:

1. Means for regenerating trains of impulses, comprising a plurality ofsteppers each arranged to complete a cycle of operations on apredetermined number of steps, each said stepper being responsive to theimpulses of a difierent train of impulses, a common stepper arranged tocom plete a cycle of operations on the same predetermined number ofsteps as said individual steppers, means for associating said commonstepper with each of said individual steppers in turn, means thereuponoperative under control of the associated individual stepper to step inunison said common stepper and the individual stepper with which saidcommon stepper is at that time associated a number of steps equal to thedifierence between said predetermined number and the number of impulsesin the train to which said individual stepper has responded, leavingsaid common stepper a number of remaining steps to take equal to thenumber of impulses in the train to which said individual stepper hasresponded, and means under control of said common stepper fortransmitting an outgoing impulse for each of said remaining steps takenby said common stepper.

2. Means for regenerating trains of impulses, comprising an inputcircuit operating in response to a plurality of incoming trains ofimpulses to successively advance a corresponding plurality of individualstepperseach a number of steps corresponding to the number of impulsesin the train which said individual stepper has been allotted toregister, a common stepper, said common stepper and each of saidindividual steppers being arranged to-complete a cycle of operations ona given total number of steps not less in number than the greatestnumber of impulses in any train of impulses, means for successivelyplacing said common" stepper under control of each of said individualsteppers, means for advancing said common stepper under control of itsthen associated individual stepper a number of steps equal to thedifference between the said given total number and the number of stepswhich said then associated individual stepper has been advanced by atrain of impulses, and means under control of said common stepper fortransmitting outgoing impulses equal in number to the difference betweensaid given total number and the number of steps advanced by said commonstepper under control of said associated individual stepper.

3. Means for regenerating trains of impulses,

oomprisinga plurality of individual steppers, a common complementarystepper, an input circuit for setting said individual steppers, eachsaid individual stepper registering the number of impulses in a separatetrain of impulses, an

output circuit, a start control circuit for bringing

